Mills Caroline, Chapparo Christine
Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect), New South Wales, Australia.
Discipline of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Aust Occup Ther J. 2018 Feb;65(1):15-24. doi: 10.1111/1440-1630.12381. Epub 2017 Oct 12.
BACKGROUND/AIM: Occupational therapists consider the impact of autism spectrum disorder on occupational performance at school. Occupational therapists work with teachers to support student participation. Atypical sensory processing is common in children with autism. Therefore, collaborating with teachers to enable students with autism to appropriately process sensory information within classrooms may be necessary. This qualitative pilot study aimed to capture teachers' perceptions of using a Sensory Activity Schedule, a sensory based intervention, in the classroom.
A qualitative descriptive approach was used to analyse semi-structured interview responses from 19 qualified teachers who taught children with autism from seven different autism specific special schools in NSW. Teachers were asked about their motivation to complete the intervention as well as helpful and difficult aspects of the intervention.
Three main categories and eight sub-categories were identified from the 19 respondents who reported that helping their students was an important motivation for using a Sensory Activity Schedule as well as the opportunity to evaluate whether sensory based intervention was beneficial. Teachers reported that learning new ideas, working with an occupational therapist and seeing an increase in concentration and a reduction in undesired behaviours were positive aspects of utilising the intervention. Timing, staffing and fidelity of the intervention were areas of concern.
Collaboration with classroom teachers is an essential part of school-based occupational therapy. Insights from teachers who implemented a sensory based intervention in the classroom assist occupational therapists to better support students with autism spectrum disorder in schools.
背景/目的：职业治疗师关注自闭症谱系障碍对学生在校职业表现的影响。职业治疗师与教师合作以支持学生参与。非典型感觉处理在自闭症儿童中很常见。因此，与教师合作以使自闭症学生能够在课堂上适当地处理感觉信息可能是必要的。这项定性的试点研究旨在了解教师对在课堂上使用基于感觉的干预措施“感觉活动时间表”的看法。
采用定性描述方法分析来自新南威尔士州七所不同的自闭症特殊学校的19名合格教师的半结构化访谈回复。教师们被问及他们实施该干预措施的动机以及该干预措施的有益和困难之处。
从19名受访者中确定了三个主要类别和八个子类别，他们表示帮助学生是使用感觉活动时间表的重要动机，也是评估基于感觉的干预措施是否有益的机会。教师们报告说，学习新想法、与职业治疗师合作以及看到学生注意力提高和不良行为减少是使用该干预措施的积极方面。干预措施的时间安排、人员配备和保真度是令人担忧的领域。
与课堂教师合作是学校职业治疗的重要组成部分。在课堂上实施基于感觉的干预措施的教师的见解有助于职业治疗师更好地支持学校中的自闭症谱系障碍学生。
